What's happening
This bill requires death certificates to indicate if alcohol was a factor in the cause of death, including related details.
Why it matters
Provides more accurate data on alcohol-related mortality. , which could help public health officials, researchers, and policymakers better understand the impact of alcohol on deaths across New York State.
May influence future resource allocation and prevention efforts. , since detailed data on alcohol as a contributing factor could justify investments in education, intervention, or treatment programs.
Could affect families and legal proceedings. by ensuring that alcohol involvement is officially recorded, potentially impacting insurance claims, public records, and awareness of alcohol’s role in certain deaths.
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Who cares
Death certificate preparers
They would have to indicate when alcohol was a factor in an act or event that caused a death and include related information required by the commissioner.
New York State health commissioner
The bill would authorize the commissioner to require related information on these death certificates.
Alcohol-harm prevention advocates
The required notation would identify alcohol’s role in deaths caused by acts or events in which it was a factor.
Headline styles
List Alcohol on Death Certificates
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 34
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
497
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to death certificates for persons whose death is caused by any act or event in which alcohol is a factor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 4141 of the public health law is amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
(e) Where a death is caused by any act or event in which alcohol is a factor, such information shall be indicated on the certificate, including any related information as the commissioner may require.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01850-01-5
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to death certificates for persons whose death is caused by any act or event in which alcohol is a factor
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to require that when a cause of death is related to alcohol, the death certificate must indicate such informa- tion.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 mandates that death certificates must include indication when a death is caused by any act or event in which alcohol is a factor, including any related information as the commissioner may require.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
Justification
Under current law, death certificates are not specifically mandated to address alcohol as a factor in a cause of death. As a result, deaths in which alcohol had a part in are misrepresented statistically. In light of this, mandated documentation of the role alcohol may have played in the deaths of individuals can provide further insight into the issue of alcoholism in New York and help further progress in preventing alcohol related deaths in the state.
Prior legislative history
2023-2024: S03522 / A04317
2021-2022: S3001 / A7374 2020: S7921
Fiscal implications
None to the State
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.